I just bought a Crates show saddle from the internet…god it probably hasn’t seen any oil in it’s 23 years. The saddle has been kept in an unheated barn, I would think. The leather is not cracked, but has that dried leather smell. I have tried Oakwood cleaner and conditioner, Lexol conditioner, Leather New Conditioner and the leather is mildly softer, but still really hard and dry feeling. Words of advice?
I am surprised Lexol didn’t help, sure has for us, even making leather too noodley for a bit, but it then gets back to normal feeling leather.
Maybe try cleaning all that stuff off very good and using Neatsfoot oil and see what happens?
It will darken the color some if it is light and will take some time to soak in good, but may do the job.
Neatsfoot oil if used too much can rot cotton thread that was not well waxed, but for occasional use is fine.
Thanks Bluey…maybe I should just try more Lexol. I used the last of my Neatsfoot oil on some harness leather reins. If more Lexol doesn’t work, I’ll go back to Neatsfoot Oil. I’m not crazy about using it, but it maybe that’s what the poor old saddle needs. Frankly, if I thought the saddle was going to be like this, I wouldn’t have bought it. Lesson learned…can’t assess leather that well from pictures.
Lexol Conditioner may need several application, to get the inside of leather more supple. I apply it, let it soak up for about 2 day, apply another coat, let it soak up, dry, until leather won’t soak up any more. I apply the Lexol to both sides like fenders, if possible. Leather may darken for a bit then lighten as moisture wokrs out leaving only conditioner product in the leather for softness.
I don’t like Neatsfoot oil in any form, so I won’t use it on any leather. It always leaves a petroleum oil feeling on the leather. Oil gets on you, horse, clothes, especially on hot sunny days when it sweats off the leather. Never gets the soft feel and look of burnished good leather.
I also like Passier lederbalsm, which comes in a can, kind of a cream leather treatment. It does a lovely job, also might need a couple applications with your hands to warm it, then shine it up with hard rag rubbing after it soaks in. Makes leather feel very nice, soft, flexible, with a nice shine after rubbing it in with a rag.
Hate to say this, but have you tried twisting the leather hard? Totally dry leather will tear. There is no fixing that kind of leather. Even soaked in oil so it is flexible, that leather will tear when stressed. You will get hurt using such tack. I have thrown away old tack, sets of harness, because the leather “had died” by being so dry.
Thanks goodhors. The leather isn’t to the tearing point, I hope. I will check it tonight. I was able to pull the leathers down through the tree and condition them…which I don’t think has ever been done. The leathers are in the best shape of the whole saddle I would say…maybe more protected from the extremes of storage?
The leather seems to be coming back, but the flap on the off side is considerably stiffer than the near side. The fenders aren’t too bad…I don’t want them too soft. I guess I will just keep oiling it with the Lexol every couple of days and see how it comes. I also have Passier Lederbalsm, but thought the other conditioners were more effective…I guess I can try it too.
Since I haven’t tried the Lederbalsm, maybe I will try it before more Lexol, thoughts?
Whatever you use, warm it first. If its in a metal can obviously don’t microwave it etc but set it in a bucket of hot water. Don’t know why, but it works better that way. I like belvoir (orange can and can be hell on your hands) the best for nasty stuff that needs love. Or a few light coats of warm olive oil applied with a paint brush. If you go the belvoir route, or any creamy conditioner for that matter, buff it off after awhile with an old sock or something disposable and it’ll shine like the day it was made 
I don’t mean to sound insultingly basic in here, but I never know how much tack cleaning experience people have, having actually known several people who thought it was ok to admit to not having cleaned tack since the 80’s 
I would not put the Passier stuff on the leather while it was damp. I also would go with the Lexol, give it time, maybe even a couple weeks, with the several treatments, letting it dry, before trying the Passier stuff. I never heated the Passier cream, just the warmth of my hands, some sunshine, and it worked right into the leather well.
I think any treatment for leather SHOULD be OK to use bare handed. Leather is actually skin, if the treatment is hard on your hands, it is probably not real good for the leather either. Know that Lexol Conditioner used bare handed, WILL soften them up, take off your callouses. If you want to keep callouses, you would want to wear plastic gloves in application of Lexol and rubbing it into leather. My bare hands were baby soft after doing Lexol treatments. Wash rubber gloves with dish soap, since mine curled up from the Lexol when I forgot to wash them. Chemicals and various items like rubber gloves may NOT get along well…
If the leather molded at any point it could be dry rotted.
The mold grows into the leather by structures called hyphae (like roots).
While the fruiting bodies of the mold/fungus on the leather surface can be wiped off, the damage done by the hyphae can not be undone, and will weaken the leather.
I swear by Skidmores Leather Conditioner. That stuff has brought back leather from the dead and made it feel like a million bucks. And it has this amazing, almost medicinal minty smell. I don’t know why I love the smell so much, but it just smells clean. And it makes my hands nice and soft too.
For really dry stuff, I put a little olive oil in the microwave and lay it on thick.
I know another poster commented about NOT liking neatsfoot but I love it! I keep a 2 gallon bucket of it and routinely dunk my headstalls and reins aND then hang them on the fence to bake in the sun. Everything is butter soft. If you’re worried about the little bit of residue on the surface you can use a bar of leather soap and wipe the saddle off. For tack in a really sad state of repair, I would make the oil very warm first, it will help penetrate the leather better. Don’t forget the underside of the leather also!
Contact Crates leather before you do more and tell them what you have.
Cratesleather.com
423-777-4140.
I have been applying Oakwood conditioner every couple of days and it’s looking really good. The leather is becoming nicely pliable again, and has a lovely, burnished glow. Thank goodness…I thought it was beyond help. I did contact Crates, but never did receive a reply. I am kicking myself for not taking before and after pictures.
When I was cleaning it early on, I was seeing funny little shiny bits in the tooling. It looked like colourless bits of shiny plastic, for lack of a better description. They have pretty much disappeared now. I wonder if at sometime someone had spray lacquered this saddle. I am pretty sure it started it’s life as a London tan colour. It’s a lovely reddish brown now.
You know we need pics, right?
I like Leather Honey and Leather Shines Leather Conditioner.
I would love to try Leather Honey, but I can’t find it in Canada.
In my experience its inconsistent and can be sticky as all hell or it can be wonderful.
You can order it on Amazon. That’s how I was able to get it, but it’s nothing special. I actually hated it. Skidmores is all I use now.
Yup, that’s the plasticlike crap some spray on to make it shiny flaking off. It might be a good idea to really clean it, with mild soap and water. Take the fenders off (they are very hard to get back on though…) or pull them down to expose where the narrow strap/leather runs over the bars and pay attention to nooks and crannies as well as stitching around the girth rings… Be sure to get anything else that got put on it and all the accumulated dirt and products off.
A lot of times too much product gets glopped on and actually keeps the leather from breathing and absorbing oils/conditioners. And most people never take the fenders off or at least pull them through to clean and inspect where the strap/lleather is fastened to the wider fender. That can come apart, particularly on the left side as most western riders mount from the ground on the left. That’s why it’s not unusual for the left fender to be more worn then the right,
I had an older saddle come apart on me right at the top of the fender where the narrow strap/leather was riveted onto it. I was halfway up starting to swing my leg over when it let go. Cracked a rib hitting the ground…I landed on my left foot but had it still in the stirrup and when I got he right foot down, tripped over it and the still attached fender when the horse knocked me over leaving the scene, scared the poor thing. Funny now but at the time, not so much.
I have also seen a saddle come apart when the girth ring pulled out of the skirt due to rotten stitching, thank heavens I wasn’t on that one, Also seen the stirrup leather almost torn through right where it goes over the bar,
Westen saddles are heavier and more complicated then English ones but they have the same critical parts that need to be cleaned and inspected regularly- where the girth and/or billlets attach and leathers going over stirrup bars are the usual points of failure, add where the leather attaches to the wider fender for Westen. But you got to pull that fender down to clean and check the leather at the top, where it’s attached to the fender and watch the stitching around the girth ring.
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Thanks Findeight. I pulled the fenders down first thing to check the leather and was happy that is was in better condition than the other parts of the saddle…maybe because it wasn’t lacquered.
I will check the stitching around the girth ring…never thought to check that. I think I will change my tactics and give it a clean with something like soap and try oiling it again. I think that whatever was put on it is acting as a barrier to absorbing oil and conditioner.
Suggestions on the soap or cleaner to use?
